Jacob views the alliance between him and the Lord as a transaction. He is willing to put faith in God, but only if God first demonstrates his power and grants favors to Jacob. Jacob acts like a shrewd businessman willing to accept a lucrative contract, but only if some sort of collateral or "ability to pay" is demonstrated first. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayWhen Jacob sleeps in the temple at Bethel, he has a dream of angels going up and down a ladder from heaven (Genesis 28:12). At the foot of the ladder, right next to Jacob, stood the Lord and, introducing himself as the God of Jacob's ancestors, promised to give Jacob the land on which Jacob lay, to give him many ancestors and to be with him. and protect him wherever he goes; he will never leave Jacob until the Lord has fulfilled all that he had promised him (Genesis 28:13-15). Normally, if a human being had such a vision or dream from God, he would marvel at God's power to accomplish such a great wonder. Then, seeing that the Lord has such great power, they would take God's word at face value and trust that such a powerful being would be faithful to His word. Jacob, however, says: «If God will be with me and will protect me on this journey that I am making, and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear, and I will return safely to my father's house, the Lord will be my God (Genesis 28:20-21). By listing all these things that the Lord must do before Jacob will accept him as his God, Jacob indicates that his disposition toward God is full of doubt. Jacob is willing to take the Lord as his God only because he thinks it will be advantageous and advantageous for him to do so. This statement by Jacob sets the tone for his relationship with the LORD. Jacob, while recognizing the power of the Lord, does not fully trust the Lord to fulfill His word or, at a minimum, does not trust God to fulfill His word in the exact way Jacob wants it fulfilled. Jacob's distrust of how God will fulfill his word is highlighted in chapter 32 when Jacob is informed that Esau, his brother, is coming to meet him with four hundred men (Genesis 32:7). Jacob had taken advantage of Esau by taking Esau's firstborn rights (Genesis 25:33) and had stolen Isaac's blessing intended for Esau (Genesis 27:36). Esau was angry with Jacob and wanted to kill him the last time the two brothers were close (Genesis 27:41). Jacob, fearing for his life, begs the Lord to “Save me from the hand of my brother, from the hand of Esau! Otherwise I fear that he will come and smite me” (Genesis 32:12). As mentioned before, the Lord promised Jacob that He would be with him and would never leave him (Genesis 28:15). Jacob, however, does not seem to believe that God will protect him and takes some additional measures to hopefully save himself. He sends Esau a rather large gift of livestock (Genesis 32:14-17) hoping that the gift will pacify Esau and save Jacob's life (Genesis 32:21). Jacob's view of the covenant between him and God is cautious. He is willing to put the alliance into practice and reap its benefits, but he does not totally surrender to the Lord's mercy and does not trust in his actions. It forms contingencies in case God does not keep his word and even, in a sense, tries to manipulate God into fulfilling his word in the way Jacob desires. This is in stark contrast to Abraham who, after receiving his long-promised son Isaac, is commanded by God to sacrifice Isaac (Genesis 22:2). Abraham is told to kill what he loves most and what God promised to give him..